I Don't Love You
by cursedcursive
Summary: Words can be as painful as punches. Gilbert X Elizabeta X Vladimir, human names, reviews are encouraging! Chapter Five is up! Rated T for domestic abuse. WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SMOKING AND FIRES. NOTE: this story has been put on hiatus. For more information, refer to the note after chapter five.
1. The First Hit

Chapter One: The First Hit

"Yo, Elizabeta, you here?" A heavy german accent called as the speaker tapped his knuckles against the front door. Gilbert let out a deep sigh and watched his breath fade away. "She has some nerve making the awesome me wait here in this cold," he muttered as the door opened slowly.

"Hello?" A quiet voice asked.

"Ah, Elizabeta, hurry up and let me in already!"

"Gil?" The hungarian woman squeaked when Gilbert rudely pushed the door open. "Sheesh, you couldn't have waited two more seconds?"

"Well I'm sorry, fraulein, but it was cold out there!" The man complained.

"That doesn't give you a right to welcome yourself into my home!" Liz pouted.

"Ah, whatever." Silence fell between the two as Gilbert collapsed on the couch, covering his face with a pillow.

"So, um, Gilbert, what did you want?" He turned and looked at her.

"What, the awesome me doesn't need a reason to be here. If I want to I can be here twenty-four hours a day!" He exclaimed arrogantly. Liz glared at him.

"Your self proclaimed _awesomeness _doesn't allow you into my house uninvited!" Gilbert scowled.

"Fine."

The argument was replaced by an awkward silence as the two avoided eye contact. After a heavy pause, Liz walked over to the kitchen and continued doing the dishes.

"Hey," Gil asked after a second pause. "How's Vladimir?"

_CRASH. _

Gilbert quickly turned to the kitchen. There the hungarian stood, hands empty and a shattered plate at her feet.

"Oh, whoops," she said. She bent down and began picking up the shards.

"Hey, wait Liz, that's dang-"

"Ow!" She cried, immediately dropping her glass shards. She lifted up her hand to find blood coming from her pointer finger. Gilbert sighed.

"Ya see what happens when you don't listen to me?"

"Shut up! It doesn't even hurt that much!" Liz cried, her eyes stinging. Gil looked back at her.

"Well, in any case, we should get a band aid on it. Give me your hand," he held out his own hand as he stared at her with a bored expression. Liz shyly extended her right arm and placed her hand in his. "There, now that wasn't so hard, was it, fraulein?"

"Just shut up," she muttered, looking away. For a few minutes the two sat in silence on the floor while Gil cleaned her cut. "You are aware that I can do this by myself, right?"

"Yeah, but then I can't make fun of you for being helpless." Liz turned and glared at him.

"Shut up! I am _not _helpless!" Gil started laughing. "What?" The hungarian woman demanded.

"Nah, it's nothing. It's just that when you answered the door you were all shy. And now you show your true colors," he smirked. An angry blush painted Elizabeta's face.

"I hate you so much," she muttered. The two sat in a comfortable silence until Gilbert put the band aid on.

"There, done."

"Finally, why'd you take so damn long?"

"Just being attentive. Though we should probably see if you were cut anywhere else," he said as he began rolling up Elizabeta's sleeve. Her eyes widened and immediately stopped his hand.

"Oh, no, I'm sure that I would have felt something if that were true," she whispered, an unnecessary smile on her face.

"Well, alright," Gilbert said, confused, the two suddenly becoming very uncomfortable. "Um, maybe I should get going?" He suggested with an awkward smile.

"Oh, yeah, I mean you didn't really come here for anything anyways, did you?"

"Yeah, I have to finish up some work at home anyways!" He said, the two standing up.

"Well, um, goodbye!" Elizabeta said.

"Y-yeah! See you soon!"Gilbert said, putting on his coat. However, as he got to the door, he stopped. Gil turned around, his eyes meeting Liz's.

"Gil?" She questioned. He stared at her.

"Don't drop anymore plates!" He cried. Gil then proceeded to slam the door before she had anytime to react to his outburst.

"What was that?" She muttered.

On his walk home, Gilbert stared down at the snow. His eyes clouded over as he thought to himself.

"What was with her smile?"

Elizabeta sat on her bed, hugging her legs in an attempt to ignore the redness on her face. _He's such an idiot, _she thought while looking at her band aid. Smiling to herself, she got up and took off her shirt. Liz walked over to her mirror, placing a hand on it. Her smile quickly disappeared as she stared at her figure. _They're still there. _Her eyes went blank as she scanned herself in the mirror. "So many bruises," she whispered. Images of the previous night flashed into her mind. Her hand flew to her mouth, desperately trying prevent her from vomiting. Liz cradled her shaking body and started to cry. She quickly returned to her bed and wrapped her comforter around herself. "I'm scared," she cried. "I'm scared, Gil."

That night, while Gilbert stayed up trying to understand her actions, Elizabeta cried herself to sleep for the fifth night in a row.


	2. The Second Blow

Chapter Two: The Second Blow

The bustling people and calls for price checks battled each other as a very tired Elizabeta restocked the breakfast aisle with new boxes of cereal. She stared blankly at the price tags stuck to the shelves, occasionally glancing down the aisle out of sheer boredom. "This is so stupid," she sighed.

"It doesn't have to be," a voice whispered into her ear. Elizabeta gasped and quickly turned around. "Morning to you too, fraulein."

"Jesus christ, Gil!" The man started laughing. "Give me a heart attack why don't you?" Liz cried angrily cried, her face heating up.

"Sorry, Liz, but you spacing out," he spoke. "I couldn't let such a good opportunity go to waste."

"You're such an ass," she said, turning around as she concealed a small smile. "What do you want anyways?" Liz demanded, quickly wiping the smile off her face. Gil frowned.

"I need no reason to do anything," he declared. Liz glared at him over her shoulder.

"Fine, if you _must _know Elizabeta, I need to buy some more wurst. Ludwig has been getting antsy 'cause we haven't had any in the house for a while."

"Oh, how is your brother?" Liz questioned as she continued to stock the grocery store shelves.

"He's fine. He's been spending a lot of time with that Feliciano guy. I don't know why though. They don't seem to have much in common," Gil murmured.

"Well that's good," Liz said loudly.

"Oh yeah!" Gil remembered. "How's your finger?" Liz blushed.

"I-it's fine," she stammered. Nervously, she began playing with her name tag.

"Good, glass can be pretty sharp sometimes," Gil almost yelled, oblivious to Liz's reaction. He gave her a huge smile and Liz felt her face heat up.

_W-what the hell? What the hell is this? _

"Liz?" Gil interrupted her thoughts.

"What?" He smirked.

"You're ripping your shirt." The hungarian looked down at her chest, only to see that she had been tugging on her name tag so hard that the pin had indeed begun ripping the cloth.

"Oh crap!" She yelled a little too loudly. People around the two paused and stared for a second before turning back to their previous deeds. Gilbert, however, was beside himself with laughter. "Shut up!" Liz angrily whispered.

"Man, Eliza, you sure are jumpy today!" He laughed while holding his stomach.

"Oh, shut it already," she muttered as she left Gilbert in her expedition to the snack aisle.

"Hey, c'mon, fraulein!" Gil called after her as she continued walking.

_I don't know what this feeling is, _Liz thought, _but it makes me feel really friggin' pissed off!_

* * *

Liz sighed as she continued folding her laundry. It had been weeks since she had last done so, and the sad pile of clean clothes just kept piling up. _I really need to stop being such a procrastinator, _she thought as she continued watching TV. Eventually, a knock at the door interrupted her imperative folding.

"Coming!" She yelled, turning her head to face the door. She quickly got up and proceeded to open the door.

"Good afternoon, babe," the individual answered.

"Vlad?" Elizabeta murmured.

"What? Not glad to see me?" He said, leaning against the door frame. Liz looked down.

"N-no, that's not it at all, I'm just surprised is all." She quickly plastered her face with a fake smile. The romanian smirked.

"Good." He invited himself into her house and sat himself down on her couch.

"U-um, is there any reason you came today, Vlad?" Liz asked, carefully standing behind him. He paused.

"Yes, there is, actually," he spoke, his voice deepening. "What is your relationship with a one 'Gilbert Beilschmidt?'"

Liz flinched. "Why do you ask?"

It happened faster than she could comprehend. She was down on the ground, her hands pinned down on either side of her head as her hair frayed about. "What kind of a question is that?" He demanded, his eyes harsh and cold. Liz was too shocked to speak. "Answer me!" Vlad screamed, his grip on her tightening.

"N-nothing! We don't have a relationship," Liz managed to choke out.

"Lies!" His voice escalated as he slapped her across her face, the blow making her entire body shift sideways.

"Honest!" She cried. "We're just friends, I swear!" Her eyes stung, tears threatening to fall at the new-found pain on her right cheek. She tasted blood.

"Do you love him, Eliza?" He whispered, his voice terrifying and captivating.

"No, no I don't, I don't love him! I love you! I promise! I'm in love with _you!_" She whispered in a choked voice as the tears began to fall.

"You'd fucking better be," he said as he leaned down. Painfully, he bit her neck over and over, sucking and gnawing and stabbing with his teeth. Elizabeta could hardly move, let alone scream. The feeling of suffocation strangled her voice to pieces and she clenched her eyes shut. She could not bear to see what was in front of her.

Finally, Vlad lifted his head up and admired his work. Six hickeys now coating Elizabeta's neck, he smirked with satisfaction as he released his grip on her wrists. "I'll be going then," he said, getting up off of her. He turned to look back at her when he got to the door, her body still lying limply on the floor. "See you tomorrow, Eliza."

At the sound of the door closing, Liz's cries finally escaped. Her sobs filled the house as she curled into a ball on the hardwood floor. Her eyes widened as she saw the new bruises on her wrists. Panicking, she quickly stood up and sprinted to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Liz cast off her clothes as she turned the shower on, stepping in after only a moment of waiting. Grabbing a brush, she furiously scrubbed herself until her flesh became pink. She screamed in agony as the hot water hit her raw skin, but refused to leave the shower.

"Get off, get off, get off, get off, get off, get off!" She cried out, her whispers quickly rising to screams of distress and desperation. When she couldn't bear the pain anymore, she turned off the shower and stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. Scanning her body from top to bottom, she looked at her hickeys for the first time. _What are those? _She questioned, horrified, but sadly already knowing the answer. She threw her hands up to her mouth, the vomit already rising up in her throat. Her legs crumbled under her as she held desperately onto the sink for support. The cup holding her toothbrush fell and broken glass decorated the tile. Quickly she turned to the toilet, painfully retching as she sobbed and gasped for breath. Her vision began to blur.

"It hurts," she said as she collapsed. Laying on the tiled floor of her bathroom, clad in only her towel, she fell asleep.

That night, Elizabeta had a dream. She dreamt of sitting with a man on a summer porch, contently sipping lemonade. However, it was interrupted by a nightmare:

She woke up.


	3. The Third Mark

Chapter Three: The Third Mark

Elizabeta woke up the next morning to the abrupt sound of her cell phone. Picking herself off the bathroom tile, she quickly put on her bathrobe. "Hello?"

"Ah, Liz!" A man chirped.

"Toris?" She questioned, confused.

"Yeah, yeah, it's me."

"What's up? Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine, I just have a request I need to ask of you," he asked delicately.

"Oh, well, alright? What do you need, I guess?" The lithuanian sighed of relief.

"I need you to go on a double date with me and Natalia." Liz almost dropped the phone.

"Wait, what?! Why are you going on a date with _her?" _

"Natalia is a wonderful person, I'll have you know! And I finally managed to convince to go out on a date with me, but only if somebody else goes too! Please Liz, I'm begging you!" Elizabeta hesitated.

"I don't know, Toris. I've never been that close to Natalia." _Nor have I ever liked her very much, _she thought. "Besides, wouldn't she be happier on the date if the other couple was someone that she's familiar with?"

"I already tried asking Yekaterina, but she already has plans. And NO WAY could I ever ask Ivan! I don't think it would be healthy for my heart if he were around. You're the only one left! Please, Liz, I'll never ask you for anything else!"

"Okay, okay, I'll go with you. There's no need to be so dramatic," she agreed reluctantly. "But I'll need to talk to Vlad about it first." She could hear cheering on the other side of the phone.

"Thank you so much, Liz! I swear we'll have a great time!" Liz couldn't help but smile at his obvious ecstasy.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure we will. Where and when?"

"I'll text you in a few minutes. We still need to decide where we want to go, actually," he muttered. Liz could just _hear _his embarrassment through the phone.

"Okay, I'll await your message. See you later!"

"Bye, Lizzie!" The hungarian promptly hung up. She then proceeded to immediately call up Vlad.

"Hey, babe," the man in question spoke.

"Hey."

"What's up?"

"So, um, Toris has just invited us out on a double date with him and Natalia, so I just wanted to make sure you were okay with this."

"Huh? Sounds boring. No way, don't wanna." Liz flinched. His tone told her that he was in a good mood today, but she didn't like the risk of talking back.

"The thing is, honey, that he really needs us to go with him. He practically begged me to. So, I think it would be nice to do so," she stammered. The silence on the other end had her whole body shaking.

"Fine, if the little guy really wants us to."

"Wonderful!" She just about screamed. "I'll go tell him the good news!"

"Yeah, yeah. Listen, babe, I gotta run. Fill me in on the details later k? K. Bye."

"Oh, um, okay, b-" the phone clicked off. "Bye." Her heart recommenced beating as she set down her phone. "I spoke up to him," she whispered.

* * *

Toris spent his time waiting for Liz and Vlad by constantly checking his phone, leaving Natalia to stare at the other people in the amusement park.

"D-don't worry, Natalia! I'm sure they'll be here soon!" He attempted reassurance, however the statement was mostly for himself. The belarusian looked in his direction, finally noticing he was speaking. Toris always did have such a small, pitiful voice.

"Who are we waiting for, again?" She interrogated coldly.

"Liz and Vlad," he smiled, glad that she was finally talking. Natalia looked puzzled.

"Who?"

"Elizabeta and Vladimir! You've met them before."

"When?"

"We went to see a movie with them and our other friends!" Natalia's face slowly brightened.

"Oh, I believe I know who are speaking of now. I don't really remember them, I only payed attention to Big Brother Ivan," she spoke, her facial expression completely serious. Toris sighed.

"It's always about Ivan, huh?" He grumbled.

"Did you say something, Laurinaitius?" Natalia tilted her head slightly.

"No, nothing." The man's smile quickly returned. _Come on, get over it. _The two stayed silent for the rest of their wait.

"Sorry we're late!" A voice called out. Toris's eyes sparkled as he looked up.

_Huh? _The white-haired girl thought.

"So glad you made it!" Toris ran up to the new arrivals, the girl in particular.

_What's with his face? And also, _Natalia thought, _what's his problem? _She directed her attention to the man accompanying the new girl. _Elizabeta, was it? _Natalia and the unknown man made eye contact and stared. She looked deeply into his eyes. _Such a scary person. _Elizabeta turned away from Toris and promptly moved on to Natalia.

"Hello, Natalia," Liz said respectfully. "How are you doing today?" The hungarian smiled politely at her. Natalia made no attempt to reciprocate the gesture.

"Fine. And you are doing alright as well?"

"Yes, I'm doing fine!"

_Wait, what? _Elizabeta returned to speaking with Toris. _What was with that smile?_

"C'mon, guys, let's get going!" Liz exclaimed. "I want to ride all the roller coasters!" While Liz suddenly acquired a fiery gleam in her eye, Natalia merely nodded.

The afternoon was spent riding a series of extremely high and dangerous-looking rides going approximately eighty miles per hour. Needless to say, the two girls received more stares than they would like to admit. While Toris was noticeably getting jealous, Vlad made no effort to be upset. The man was calm, cool, and collected, which only served to irritate Toris.

"How can you not be upset! Liz is clearly gonna get hit on if you aren't careful," Toris warned him. Vlad only shrugged. Crossing his arms as the two sat on a bench.

"It just isn't that big of a deal."

"How can it not be a big deal? You're being ridiculous."

"I'm not. She knows that she belongs to only me." The man's eyes got darker, but quickly returned to normal at Toris's next outburst.

"I just don't understand how you can be so cool about all this. I'm going crazy over here!"

"That's because this is your first date with the girl. You have to be careful because she isn't yours yet."

"Maybe," he pouted. "But if we were to continue dating, I think I would stay like this all the time." Vlad remained silent as Toris walked over to the girl in question. He looked up to see Liz buying a pretzel at one of the many overpriced concession stands. After staring for a minute, he walked over to the woman, forcibly grabbing her arm.

"C'mon, We're going. I'm tired."

"Wait, Vlad, wha-"

"Hey, Toris, the two of us are leaving." The romanian left, not even waiting for the man's reply. Liz followed closely behind. When the two got to the parking lot, he released Liz from his grip.

"What was that about, Vlad? Are you feeling okay?" She looked at him, concerned. He turned to look at her and she shivered. His eyes were dark and murderous.

"Get in the car." There was no kindness in his voice as he slammed her door shut, Liz locked in. Getting in with her, Vlad gripped the steering wheel tightly. His breathing increased to angry gasps. He turned and gripped her face, looking dead into her eyes. Her arms trembled. "What are you doing, embarrassing me like that?" His voice shook. He was about to snap. "Flirting with other guys is unacceptable."

"Vlad, I-"

"SHUT UP, SLUT!" He screamed as he moved his hand to her hair, gripping it tightly and painfully.

"OW! Ow, Vlad, it hurts!" She began crying immediately as he forced her to shrink back into her seat. He slammed his face to hers, kissing her, violating her. "STOP, STOP PLEASE!" She pleaded and begged, her voice dangerously loud. "Please."

* * *

The phone call stopped. Natalia, with shaking hands, looked to the caller ID:

Elizabeta Hedervary.

Natalia clamped her hand over her mouth, unbelieving of what she just heard. Her eyes were wide, her stomach churning.

"Natalia?" The voice behind her called. "Are you alright?" She turned around to see Toris, looking extremely concerned. She stared at him. Her face returned to normal as her eyes attained their blank glare again.

"I'm fine," she said, hiding the phone behind her. She gripped it tightly until her knuckles turned white. The two walked off together.

Natalia may have held his hand, just to humor him, had it not been that her hands had become slick with sweat.

* * *

**Hey guys! Cursedcursive here! Thanks so much for reading my story! It means a lot to me! This chapter is longer than the others, so please enjoy! Reviews and faves are welcome and encouraging! I'll try to get chapter four up by friday next week! **


	4. The Fourth Strike

Chapter Four: The Fourth Strike

Three days had passed since the double date with Toris and Natalia. Liz remained in her house, not going out unless to get mail. The doorbell didn't ring, and she received no phone calls. She spent these days puttering about the house, performing odd jobs that didn't necessarily need to get done. Even so, she did them anyways.

Sometimes, Elizabeta would find that watching tv helped. While the programs she watched were never truly enthralling, they adequately distracted her from… certain things.

On the morning of the third day, Liz was roused from her slumber when the doorbell obnoxiously rung. _Couldn't have waited two more hours? _She thought annoyed, too tired to speak. She sluggishly pulled herself out of bed, throwing a blanket over her shoulders, her legs and arms cold from her shorts and tank top. "Comin'," she groaned, the wood floor creaking as she dragged her feet. Opening the door in a most uncivil manner, Liz's mouth proceeded to hang open slightly as the drool on her chin became a distinct accessory.

"Natalia?" She uttered after blinking several times. Liz's eyes were still crusted over from her nighttime sleep. The white haired woman simply nodded and invited herself in. She sat herself down at the kitchen table, sitting perfectly upright and clenching pieces of her dress. "What are you doing here?" Natalia remained silent for a few moments.

"I wanted to talk to you," she flatly spoke.

"Ok," Liz responded, the unexpected visitor paired with the abrupt, early rise had confused her greatly. Liz's uncomfortable statement ended their conversation for a good portion of time. "So… What did you want to talk about, Natalia?" _Damn, that was awkward. _

"Well," Natalia hesitated. She didn't want to pry, but she also didn't want to leave here unsuccessfully. Plus, she was no coward.

"Oh, I see," Liz hummed as she interjected the girl's thoughts. Natalia looked at her confused while the Hungarian just smirked. "It's about Toris, isn't it?" Natalia's eyes widened. She was shocked at the woman's accusation, and, mistakenly on her part, made no effort to deny it. "I knew it!" Liz squealed. "You know, I wasn't sure about you two as a couple at first, but then when I saw you guys during the date, I just kept thinking to myself, 'This could work.' And I'm so glad that it has!"

As the woman continued to ramble on, Natalia's eyes turned to glass. She stared downward, void of life and human vacancy. Liz didn't notice when Natalia got up from her chair and walked towards her.

"Toris is a great guy. I mean, sure, he can be kind of a wuss sometimes, but that's only natural when he's been around Russia his whole-"

Cloth cascaded about the room as white enveloped Eliza's vision. Her eyes widened as her body suddenly felt the chill of spring air. A mix of an uncomprehending mind and frozen limbs found themselves in Liz. Natalia, her face unchanging, looked down at the woman's exposed arms and legs. A long, hard hush filled the house as Natalia's eyes locked on the girl.

"Elizabeta," she commanded. "How long have you had those bruises?"

Elizabeta suddenly felt the intensity of the stare. She wrapped her arms around herself, the bruises feeling as if they had just formed. Her legs crumpled under her. Natalia's eyes, those terrifying, real eyes, surrounded Liz in a dark smog, strangling her and bringing back the memories of those many, scary nights. The moments that she suffered through, the memories she tried to convince herself as simple nightmares flooded back into her. _The feeling of suffocation as teeth scraped against skin, the sounds, the sounds of knuckles hitting joints, coughing mixed with horse sobs. The fear. The loneliness. _

The pain.

Elizabeta let out a piercing scream, clutching her head while Natalia did nothing but watch. The screeches turned into deep cries. Still, Natalia did nothing.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" She hysterically cried. "GET AWAY! GET AWAY!" Natalia stared down at her, her eyes boring holes into Eliza. "STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT! STOP LOOKING! STOP!" She sobbed, her wild eyes calming down slightly. "Please just leave me alone, Vlad."

Finally, the onlooker spoke.

"Elizabeta," she whispered, crouching down to see the other's face. "It's alright, I'm right here." She held out her hand and ran it up Eliza's arm, but she knocked it away. "I'm not Vladimir. It's just me. It's Natalia." Liz finally looked up.

"Natalia?" She whispered raspily. Her eyes were red, as if she had been crying blood.

"Yes."

"Natalia," she said with more confidence. The white haired girl smiled.

"Yes?" Liz looked at her for a second before she broke out into more sobs. Natalia took the small girl into her arms, rubbing her purple limbs. Words were unnecessary.

* * *

"So how long has he been doing this?" Natalia asked as the two sat on the couch. Liz hesitated.

"Three months." Natalia paused.

"I see." They didn't look at each other, the atmosphere in the room as heavy as lead.

"I don't really know what sparked it. All I know is that he came here, we ate dinner, and I guess I said something. Next thing I knew, he reached over the table and hit me." Natalia remained quiet. "Then he threw his wine glass and almost flipped the table. After that, he just kind of walked out. It's been going on ever since." Elizabeta began to tear up again slightly. However. she smiled at her guest. "Sorry for dragging you into this."

Natalia got up abruptly, knocking the blanket off of them both and startling Eliza. Swiftly, she moved to the door, picking up her purse along the way. She stopped at the entrance, and right before she turned the knob she said, "If you ever need someone to talk to, I'll be your ally." Liz just stared at her back, too stunned to speak. "Bye then." And just like that, she left. After a moment, Liz chuckled to herself.

_You can't fool me, Natalia, _She thought as she got up to make herself some lunch. _A cold person would never say something like that. _

The food never tasted so good.

* * *

**Hey guys! So here's chapter four! Finals are going to be next week, so I may be a little late in posting, but I'll try to make sure I get chapter five up by next Saturday at least! And I promise, Gilbert will appear and play a big role in either the next chapter or chapter six. Look forward to it! **


	5. The Fifth Swipe

Chapter Five: The Fifth Swipe

When one finds himself in the best of times is when the hardships hit their hardest. The brightest, most joyful of experiences can be beaten down with a single strike, left alone in the dirt. Abandoned in its state of complete and utter patheticalness. A single word to describe this instance was known by only some:

Elizabeta.

It had been three weeks since Natalia's last visit, and things had been going well. At least, as good as life could be with an abusive relationship on her hands. Liz had been able to keep her mind off of the matter by acquainting herself with her friends more and getting to know her coworkers. There was one thing that bothered her, though.

As her days progressed, Liz found that she talked less and less with Gilbert. The two hadn't spoken to each other since he last visited her during her work hours in the grocery store. The days passed by much slower without him to bug her, which, in all honesty, kind of pissed her off. She found herself muttering to herself as she replaced tubs of ice cream in the "Frozens" isle. Liz sighed to herself as she stared at the flavor in her hand.

"Replace the ice cream containers my ass," she griped. "How the hell can ice cream 'get stale'?" Lately, Liz had been noticing some weird behavior coming from her boss. Granted, he was already weird, but he had been assigning her odd, unnecessary jobs for the past two weeks! "And seriously, why would anyone need to take a survey on the most popular brands of pudding? Not only is it not needed, it wastes time too! I could be doing plenty of other things with all this time he's been giving me!"

"Oh, really?" A harsh voice spoke. Liz quickly turned around, fearing the worst.

"Mr. Zwingli," she laughed nervously. "Can I help you?" Liz found it rather difficult for her voice to not crack at the sight of her boss. He simply glared at her. "Pretty nice weather we're having, huh? Hahaha?" The man clicked his tongue at her and adjusted his name tag, reading _Basch Zwingli. _He then proceeded to walk right past her without a word, purposely bumping her shoulder with his own as he passed her. Liz closed her eyes and sighed deeply.

"Fuck." She slammed the door to the refrigerator shut as she rubbed her temples.

"Now, that's not very nice language, is it, fraulein?" Elizabeta couldn't remove her hands fast enough.

"Gilbert?!" The man smiled at her.

"Hey, how's it going? I haven't seen ya around lately," he smirked and laughed like it had only been a day since their last greeting.

"Hell yeah you haven't! What the hell, Gil?! You never talk to me anymore! What's with that?"

"I just haven't been around lately. There isn't really a reason, I guess." Liz closed her mouth.

"So you just didn't want to see me, huh," she whispered.

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing!" She smiled at him. "So what _has _been up with you lately? What's going on in the awesome life of Gilbert Beilschmidt?"

"I told you, fraulein, nothing really. The only remotely interesting thing that's happened to me is that my manuscript got accepted." The Hungarian's mouth fell wide open. "Careful, you may catch flies, Liz."

"How could you not find that important?!" She screamed. "That's so amazing, Gil, congratulations!" She flung her arms around him, embracing him in a back-breaking hug.

"Lay off the arms there, Liz, or I'll break," he wheezed. Liz just laughed him off.

"I'm so happy for you! You've been trying for so long and now they've finally accepted you! We should celebrate!" Gil hesitated. "C'mon, I'll buy you a beer. You prussians love that stuff, dontcha'?"

"Of course we do!" He laughed. "But tonight's no good. Maybe some other time?" Liz pouted.

"Fine. But I'll hold you to that, okay? No turning back now."

"Naturally," he smiled. "I really have to get going, now. Ludwig and Veneziano are hanging out at our house. The two are such polar opposites, they'll definitely need me there to break the ice. Honestly, I have no idea why Ludwig keeps inviting him over." Liz raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"No, nothing," she giggled. "You should get going. They're sure to be _super _awkward."

"I know right? Well, see you around, Elizabeta." And like that he was off.

Liz's face heated slightly. _He hasn't called me by my full name for a while now, _she thought, her smile irreplaceable.

"Eliza." The girl's thoughts were interrupted. Turning around, she came face to face with Basch again.

"Mr. Zwingli?" She question. "What can I do for you?"

"Please come with me." He turned around and began walking to the side of the store, not even waiting for a response. She quickly hurried after him.

Elizabeta sat down immediately when they arrived at his office. Shutting the door behind him, he placed himself behind his desk.

"Here's the thing, Eliza," he sighed. "This isn't going to work." Liz's heart stopped. Her mind went blank.

"Wha-" she stuttered. "What can't work?" He stared at her.

"We're overstaffed." He said bluntly. "Keeping you and some others employed here has been hurting us more than helping us. Therefore, I'm afraid we're going to have to let you go." She stared blankly at him.

_Wait, what's going on? _Liz couldn't comprehend anything. "Are you," she asked, "firing me?" He avoided her stare.

"Yes. I'm sorry."

"But why?! I've helped out this store a lot and I've even been putting up with you're weird requests!"

"That's the thing, Eliza." He raised his voice. "Those were last ditch effort jobs. I was attempting to keep you here by finding _something_ for you to do, but it didn't work out. They were extremely unnecessary and failed." She froze. "You can pick up your final paycheck tomorrow. After that, we no longer require you to come here."

"Sir, please, you can't do that!" She bellowed. "I just paid my bills last week, there's no way I can make a single paycheck last a month!" His final words to her were short.

"I'm sorry."

* * *

Elizabeta drove herself home after that. Her eyes were dark and lifeless. It was official. She had lost everything. She glanced to her left at an intersection and noticed a small gas station. Next to it, a drug store. She turned left.

When she made it home, she dumped her purse onto her couch and threw off her jacket. She immediately placed a plastic bag on the kitchen table, reaching for the purchased product inside.

Cigarettes.

Lighting one, she made her way over to her living room and sat down next to her window. Her hand shaking, she took her first dip. She coughed a little, but nothing more than that. Liz stared at the object in her hands, perplexed by the embers at the tip. She unconsciously tapped in it with her middle finger, glancing around the room. She almost didn't notice it when one of the embers landed on her foot.

"Ow!" She screamed, surprised at the pain. "Ow, ow, ow!" She quickly rushed to bathroom, dropping the cigarette. Sticking her foot in the bathtub, she turned the water on, surprised when it came out hot. "What the fuck?!" She yelled, but quickly sighed in satisfaction as the water turned cold. "That feels better." In the other room, the cigarette lied, forgotten on the floor. However, it had done its job.

It began setting the curtains on fire.

* * *

**Hey guys! Thanks for reading this chapter and sorry it was up later than I said it was going to be! Next chapter will be the climax, expect some Gilbert and Vlad confrontation and some cute moments between Eliza and Gil! Next chapter may be up by thursday, I have tests this week so I shouldn't have homework! **

**~cursedcursive**


	6. UPDATE

**Hey guys. After a lot of thought, I've decided to discontinue this story and put it on hiatus. The story is taking a turn that I didn't want it to take, so I won't be posting any more chapters. Thank you so much to those who continued to read it even after the plot went downhill haha. I will continue to write short oneshots of various anime, however. **

**Sincerely,**

**cursedcursive**


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